Restlessness is endemic among entrepreneurs who are energized by the new idea, new opportunity, new product, and new technology. The constant need for change and improvement is what makes them great innovators they're never satisfied with the status quo...the ordinary. They're drawn to new stimulating challenges, which sometimes flower and bear fruit.

But more often these engaging diversions are the seeds of a company's demise. Without disciplined focus, the venture will go unnoticed in the vast field of competitors, the company will wither and no one will recall that bright idea that shriveled on the vine.

So, to set itself on the path to success, to grow and eventually harvest the business, an entrepreneurial company must stay focused no matter how intense the temptation may be to waiver off course. Here are ten reasons why:

With limited resources you can't do everything well. Small companies have limited financial and human resources. They lack the capital and staff of their larger, more established competitors. Lack of focus can dilute the value of those resources, neutering them. Entrepreneurial firms, lagging in capabilities and experience, do some things much better than the competition. But, there are multiple competitors, each with unique competitive strengths.

A laser focus can target scarce resources to those areas that will provide the best long-term advantage over the competition. What is it your company does better than the competition, that your customers value? Answering this question will help you determine where you should put your time, money and people.

Eighty percent of growth strategies fail. Only 20 percent of all growth strategies succeed. This startling statistic applies to adding a new product or expanding into a new market, as well as involvement in mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. If you have had a degree of success in your current business, you're one of the lucky few who actually succeed. However, being successful in one business, does not guarantee success in another. Applying the rules you've learned in one business, may actually lead to failure in another.

Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, modeled ZAPmail after FedEx's highly successful overnight delivery system, but ZAPmail would be delivered in 2 hours! The problem was the business model didn't fit the technology ZAPmail used fax machines located in FedEx office to achieve its two hour delivery miracle. Now we all have a fax machine and FedEx lost millions on ZAPmail.

This doesn't mean you should never move out of your core business. It does mean you should do so with extreme caution and a clear understanding of the risk. Overconfidence can be costly, if not deadly.

You don't need more opportunities, you need better execution. The attribute that often makes entrepreneurs a success, skill in developing new products or services, is less critical and may even become a detriment as a company grows and evolves. To grow a business successfully, execution and management must replace creativity and entrepreneurial flair. Generally, there are more than enough opportunities to improve and expand in the core business, but for entre-preneurs, boredom sets in. The thrill is gone, the hard work is at hand. Unfortunately, the typical entrepreneur's strength is in creation of new opportunities, not in implementation.

Entrepreneurs who don't see or who resist these evolutionary changes in their company, either loss their jobs or prematurely kill their companies. Those who sense the need for better execution can either change their style or bring in "hired hands." Changing styles is kin to changing personalities. So, often the best solution for the entrepreneur is to become the company's godfather, resident genius, or mad scientist The founder of Lotus Corp., took this path. He turned his company over to Jim Manzi, and headed up the Lotus' R&D efforts. Eventually, he left Lotus, and the company prospered.

Investors are wary of new schemes. In most cases, when people invest in your company it's because they believe in your product or market concept. When you start pursuing other opportunities, investors get nervous and are apt to ask themselves: "What have I really invested in?" Especially, if you haven't fully delivered on the original concept.

You'll be giving your competitors an opportunity to steal your market. The biggest problem with pursuing other opportunities is that it distracts from your efforts to effectively and efficiently manage your core business. Losing focus of your core business provides the competition with a tremendous opportunity to step in.

A leading manufacturer of high-end western leather goods pursued an opportunity to manufacturer designer clothing. They were going to be the next "Guess jeans." While they pursued this opportunity, their key competitor stole half their market share. As a CEO lamented, "We took our eye off our core business for two years and the competition came in and ate our lunch." Don't give your competitors a free lunch.

Your rowboat has become a battleship. The bigger a company gets, the harder it is to change direction. A small company with few employees can change direction much more readily than a large company. Just think how easy it was to change your logo or stationary when you first started, and how easy it was to move your operations the first time. Your actions only impacted a few people, a few customers, and a few suppliers. As you grow these relationship expand geometrically, locking you into an expanding web of interdependencies. Change is never easy but it often becomes impossible in large companies.

You can't build a team without a common goal. It is very difficult to build a strong team unless its members are working towards a common, agreed upon goal and have a clear vision for the future. When entrepreneurs start pursuing other opportunities, the management team becomes confused. They start asking questions: "What are they supposed to do?"; "What are the priorities?"; "Why are we doing this?" Pursuing other opportunities creates unnecessary confusion and dysfunctional conflict within the team. A company that sold remanufactured office furniture starting selling new office equipment. Unfortunately, this only confused the sales people who no longer knew what to sell...new or used.

You'll achieve lower costs, and higher margins. Staying focused has a direct impact on the company's bottom line. It will keep your costs down because it will eliminate expenses that would be wasted on low-probability opportunities. At the same time, focusing will increase your margins, enabling you to provide the product or service more effectively than any competitor. Your product or service will become a better value and your customers will be willing to pay more for it.

You haven't yet mastered the current business. What makes you think you can master a new one? Until a company is the leader in its particular niche, it really is not justified in pursuing other businesses. Entrepreneurs want to be entrepreneurs, but they must become managers. Because few entrepreneurs can make this transition, they seek other entrepreneurial opportunities instead, looking for a new game when the game they're in isn't finished.

You must be the leader in the customer's mind. Going after other opportunities, products or markets will confuse your customers, and the idea will be of little value in your new venture. Brand identity is the way customers form a clear mental impression of what you do and what you don't do. Unfortunately, when you attach your brand or company name to a different product, market, or opportunity, it conflicts with the customer's mental impression. "Who are these people?" they wonder. "I thought they did X; now I'm not sure." Pursuing other opportunities may undermine your brand and any name recognition you have. Customers will start doubting your purpose.

Moreover, attaching your brand or name to a new product or service will be of little value because customers don't identify you with that part of the marketplace. Many a company has shot itself in the foot trying to leverage its brand in another business. Would you buy BIC pantyhose or Life Saver gum? These were real products that few people bought in spite of the brand name.

The soil may appear richer and grass greener on the other side of the fence, but it has just as many weeds and will require the same care and nurturing. But take heart, the same energy and intelligence that makes an entrepreneur brilliant can make a manager even better. Use your energy to tend your own field before you break ground on a new one.